Portrait of Emy - Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

A striking 1919 Expressionist portrait by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, featuring bold, angular forms and a non-naturalistic colour palette.

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, a founding member of the Die Brücke group, produced this portrait of his wife, Emy, in 1919. The work demonstrates the characteristic approach of German Expressionism, prioritising subjective emotional experience over objective representation. The artist employs a flattened pictorial space, where the figure and background merge through a shared, aggressive application of paint.

The composition is defined by sharp, angular forms and a non-naturalistic colour palette. Schmidt-Rottluff divides the face into distinct planes of green, yellow, and orange, which disrupt traditional anatomical structure. The eyes are rendered as simple, contrasting circles, while the nose is reduced to a bold, dark vertical shape. This simplification of form reflects the influence of woodcut techniques, a medium in which the artist was highly proficient. The heavy, dark outlines serve to isolate the figure against the luminous, warm background, creating a sense of tension.

Emy is depicted in a contemplative, perhaps melancholic, pose, with her hand resting near her chin. The lack of depth and the distortion of features shift the focus from a literal likeness to the psychological state of the subject. By rejecting the academic standards of portraiture, Schmidt-Rottluff captures a raw, immediate presence. The work remains a clear example of the artist's mature style, where the reduction of form and the use of discordant colour harmonies communicate a specific, internalised vision of the world. This print captures the texture and chromatic intensity of the original oil painting, allowing for a close examination of the artist's brushwork and the structural logic of his composition.